I’ve been on a bit of an airship kick lately. Or perhaps, an early 1930s aeronautical sketching streak. There’s something about that time which stokes my imagination and these recent efforts serve, more or less, as a self-tutorial in the aesthetics of the period.

Richard K. Smith’s The Airships Akron and Macon arrived on Monday. The book is a fascinating read and an incredible treat for the eyes. Smith must have gone to some astounding lengths to collect and distill the information he provides in his book — I’m continually astonished at his insights into the design of the airships as well as the political issues which surrounded their construction and employment.

More on that in future posts, perhaps. I’ll close this with a poor copy of one of the most beautiful, poignant photographs contained in Smith’s book: the USS Akron (ZRS-4) emerging from a bank of clouds. As you look at it, just imagine the smell of rain in the air, and the music of her engines against the wind in the distance.

After landing at Teller, Alaska on May 14, 1926, the airship Norge was deflated and disassembled for shipping back to Europe. Here, the crewmen regard papers related to the operation. (In retrospect, this might be more realistic if the gentleman in the foreground were holding a pipe or crowbar rather than paper.)

Due diligence for this kind of illustration demands I study a lot of old outerwear and photographs of the period (even if it doesn’t yet show in the resulting sketches). I recently came across an excellent site for that purpose entitled Archival Clothing, maintained and composed by Leslie Larson. Highly recommended for those with more than a passing interest in vintage clothing styles.

A great deal of my time in recent days has focused on the research of airships of the late 1920s and early 1930s. One such airship — the Norge — is famous for being the transportation of the first verified expedition to reach the North Pole (on May 12, 1926 — 83 years ago). The expedition was composed of Umberto Nobile (the designer of Norge), Roald Amundsen (expedition leader), and Lincoln Ellsworth (polar explorer and source of funding), among 13 others.

In this illustration, we see an unidentified explorer leaning from the control car on the ship’s arrival at Teller, Alaska on May 14, 1926, ready to assist with landing operations.